Procrastination
by this be a dead account
Summary: To put off till another day or time. You know how that works; you can't stop giving yourself more time to do it 'tomorrow.' Birthday fic for Lavi! Lavi & Lenalee friendship.


**A/N: **That title is so unintentional. But in all fairness, _somewhere_ in the world right now, it's still Lavi's birthday. I'm only an hour late for MY timezone. :'D Prompt was donated by the lovely T. Bex, or rather, LunaDance506.  
Also, this isn't necessarily a Lavi/Lena fic; personally I wrote it seeing them as BFFEAD, but hey, if that's how you like it, that's how you should go ahead and see it.

**Warnings: **Canon! Booze! Nonsensical crap! Late-night procrastinated writing!

**Credits: **Hoshino owns D. Gray-Man. And T. Bex gave the title. xD

Please review! Even a little smiley-face or frowny-face is suffice. orz

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**Procrastination  
**

The first thing Lavi registered was someone splashing freezing water over his head. Rubbing his eye in panic, he shielded his face from further attack and sat up, yelping as he was attacked anyway. "Holy- I'm up, I'm up!" It had to be ten o' clock at least; he'd slept in again. Glaring up, he was surprised to see Lenalee standing over his bed. "Uh."

"Good morning, Lavi," Lenalee beamed sweetly, putting her pitcher of water on his nightstand. "Get ready in five, because today's going to be _wonderful_." Though her smile was radiant, her voice was deadly enough for Lavi to want to obey. With no further explanation, she flounced out of the room, leaving him confused and wary.

"What's happening?" He asked stupidly, staring at the closed door.

Forced into wakefulness, he sighed and changed out of his sleeping clothes, pulling something simple on quickly. As soon as he was done, he opened the door, greeting Lenalee again. "What's happening?" He repeated, tugging his disobedient strands of hair into place.

"It's your birthday, Lavi," she said a little incredulously. How did a Bookman remember everybody's birthday enough to plan elaborate parties, but not his own?

Lavi blinked at his friend in surprise. "Oh. _Oh._" A wide grin split across his face, and he enthusiastically hugged her. It was just like Lenalee to make sure that every last member of the Order had a properly celebrated birthday party. "Thanks," he grinned.

Before he could walk toward the sitting room where their smaller parties were usually held though, the girl yanked him back by the collar of his shirt. "Wrong way," she informed him.

Dragged on by Lenalee, he looked around them and the direction they were taking. "What's in the science department?" He demanded, a hint of wary paranoia in his tone.

"The Ark," she explained patiently. "We're going on a field trip for your birthday! Allen was nice enough to set up the connection for us before he left on his mission," Lenalee said with some cheer in her words. "He told me to say 'happy birthday' for him."

Lavi was pleasantly surprised by this news, and he looked curiously ahead, as if someone might tell him his destination.

As they reached the science department, Lenalee turned to her companion warily. "We. Uh. Didn't exactly clear this with Leverrier, so..."

Just then, Johnny appeared, tapping on the girl's shoulder. "Hey, Lenalee. The chief wants to see you in his office."

Lenalee looked over at the poor man with slight enmity. "Not now, Johnny. Is it important?"

The confused scientist looked back toward Komui's office, and chewed his lower lip. "I... I'm not sure," he admitted. "I _guess_ not."

"Great. Tell him I'll be back in a few hours."

"Lenalee, what's going to take that long?" Lavi asked, trailing after his friend as she slipped carefully toward the Ark. "I have to copy logs for Book-"

The Chinese girl rounded on him, one hand on the staircase railing into the Ark. "Lavi. It's your birthday. Lighten up on work." Huffing, she marched up the stairs, and disappeared through the Ark portal.

From behind him, Reever gently pushed the redhead with a stack of textbooks in his arms and a dry smile on his lips. "Best just to listen to her, Lavi. She sounds serious," he whispered, glancing around to be sure no one else had been eavesdropping. "I think you ought to worry about work some other time."

Lavi sighed, but resigned himself to Lenalee and her mystery plans. "Alright. Just... cover me from Bookman, would you?"

Reever smirked in agreement, and nudged him toward the Ark.

"Ack." Following Lenalee cautiously into the portal, Lavi had to cover his eye from the startling, white illumination, and he squinted, trying to adjust to the brightness. "Er. Lenalee? Where are you?"

"Over here," the girl's voice called from the next street of buildings over. He strayed toward Lenalee's voice, having given in to her ways at last.

The Bookman apprentice looked around himself nervously, wondering if he should've brought his Innocence. But another impatient shout of his name split his ears, and he cringed, running toward his friend. "Coming, my pretty!"

Lenalee was already standing proudly in front of a whitewashed door, labeled only with a small ribbon reading, 'Happy birthday, Lavi! From Allen.' She reluctantly took the ribbon down, handing it over to the redhead. "We can't let Leverrier's henchmen see this..." she lamented, watching him pocket it. "_I _thought it was very cute of him," she admitted with a sheepish smile. "Anyhow! Through here," she gestured, opening the door dramatically. Grabbing Lavi's hand, she dragged him through the portal before he could even start to protest.

When he did though, Lavi blinked, realizing that he wasn't anywhere near England. Well, it didn't feel like England, anyways. They were hidden safely behind a small beach tavern, and all around them was grainy sand, smooth and littered with gray pebbles. Just a few yards away was a gleaming ocean, its deep blue surface emphasized by the gold light reflected off of it. Judging by the angle of the sun and the shadows the numerous people cast onto the beach, it was evening here.

"Where are we?" He asked Lenalee in amazement, drinking in the impossibility of the vivid colours.

"Okinawa, Japan," Lenalee pat the redhead on his shoulder, looking quite pleased with herself. "Kanda told me about this place. Actually, I think he wishes you 'happy birthday' too," she remembered suddenly, crossing her arms.

"You think?" He asked, glancing at her with a bemused expression.

"Well, I _said,_ 'Tomorrow's Lavi's birthday, any ideas of a good place to go,' and he told me Okinawa, then he sort of mumbled something, and said he needed to go on his mission with Chaouji. So. I think he said that." Exhaling, she put her hands on her hips, not as entertained by Kanda's antics as Lavi seemed to be. "What do you think?" She asked hopefully, pulling the redhead along with her as she walked to the water.

Edging carefully toward the lapping waves, Lavi grinned as a particularly busty woman walked by in her tight-fitting bathing suit. "It's fantas- Ow!" He winced as she tugged sharply on his earring, but obediently turned around to see the rest of the beach. "No, it really is great, Lena." He beamed at the Chinese girl, patting her on the head in assurance.

Satisfied with this feedback, Lenalee smiled up at her friend. "Thanks, Lavi. C'mon; it's your day, we have to go in the ocean." Pulling her casual shoes off, she threw them carelessly onto the shore, and stepped into the waters with a delighted gasp.

Grinning, the Bookman apprentice followed her lead, kicking off his boots. Depositing them beside Lenalee's pair, he gingerly waded into the waters, rolling up his pants legs as he did. To his surprise, the dark blue waves were actually warm on his skin, and he willingly waded further in. "Wow," he exhaled, smiling over at the younger Exorcist.

"I know," she laughed, holding her hands out to touch the gentle tides. "You always do these insane parties for everyone, so it's only fair, right?"

The redhead shrugged, his smile slowly fading away. He didn't have the heart to tell her that his actual birthday was a complete mystery, and he had forty-nine spare birthdays, most of which he made up on the spot.

"...Lavi?" He looked up, seeing her concerned expression. "You're worried," she said knowingly, recognizing that haze in his eye.

The redhead blinked, rubbing the back of his neck. "Wha- No. No, Lena, I'm just... thinking about Bookman. He'll kill me," he laughed nervously. However, it wasn't the logs he was fretting over. He was feeling his attachment to the Order again – the way Lenalee would so eagerly try to make his birthday perfect, and the lengths Allen was going to, creating a portal behind the Pope's back. Even Kanda had given the best destination he knew that existed, and possibly taken his pride to say 'happy birthday.'

Lenalee crossed her arms, eyes narrowed in unconvinced suspicion. "...Wait here, Lavi," she ordered, making her way back to the shore.

He stared after the Chinese, an exasperated smile on his lips despite himself. She always had to have a surprise planned, didn't she? His gaze drifted back to the steadily sweeping tides, and he trailed a finger through the white seafoam. It _was _the perfect location; he really had to give Kanda credit.

The sounds of families splashing through the shoreline comforted him for some reason – it was their voices mingling with that of the ocean. He lifted a handful of the clear water, watching serenely as it trickled steadily through his fingers. A sinking feeling in his chest grew, as he thought of how he was to slide away, like the drops from his palm. Once Bookman decided that their time in the Order was up, that would be it. They could leave nothing behind for the others to remember that they'd ever existed, and his old 'friends' would move on. As for the Bookmen, they'd go on to a new town, make new friends, and in the end, leave them as well.

Before more disturbing thoughts made it into his head though, a cheerful call rang from behind him, "Lavi! Over here!" The redhead turned around, seeing Lenalee sitting by their abandoned shoes and wielding two glasses of some kind of beverage.

Wading back to shore, he cautiously took the cold glass the girl offered to him. Sitting carefully in the sand next to her, Lavi gingerly took a sip of the drink, wincing at the unexpected tang of alcohol. "Lena, what did you get?" He asked warily.

Lenalee shrugged, clutching her hand with both hands. "I dunno, but the guy poured fruit juice in here. Tastes kinda like fruit, huh?"

Lavi leaned closer, seeing the first tint of pink in his friend's cheeks. Frowning, he hesitantly took a small mouthful of his drink again, thinking the taste over carefully. "...This is shochu, Lenalee," he told her wryly.

The younger Exorcist waved her hand in dismissal. "Shush and drink up," she ordered, not seeming to care. "We're old enough. 'Sides, it's your _birthday_."

The Bookman apprentice cringed, thinking about the possible consequences. "Komui's going to _kill_ me," he said a little desperately. "And Bookman..." he shuddered, staring at the ocean.

"_Drink_," Lenalee snapped, sounding fully alert now. "Lavi, I took you out here to relax, not worry about me, alright? Don't stress. I'm not all _that_ innocent; I can hold my liquor. I'll get us back home if you pass out." She smirked at the redhead, downing another mouthful from her glass.

The redhead exhaled quietly, thinking her words over. "...Fine," he finally decided. "So was that a challenge?" He demanded, taking a drink after Lenalee.

He did have to worry about the future – how he was going to sever these bonds. But not now – not today. Like Lenalee had said, it was _his_ day – Lavi's. Not Bookman Junior's, or any other's, and today, Lavi wanted to take in what his friends had given to him. Just one more time, he told himself, and then he'd think about what he had to do.

But not today.

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**A/N: **And that is my explanation for why Lavi and Lenalee disappeared during the 'Rise of the Noah' arc. They got drunk on a beach in Okinawa and FUCKING DROWNED. What is this. I don't even - -


End file.
